


The First Day

by seleneheart



Category: Riddle-Master Trilogy - Patricia A. McKillip
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, Pre-Canon, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 08:23:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18687742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seleneheart/pseuds/seleneheart
Summary: As the first Prince of Hed to ever leave the island, Morgon is afraid that his new roommate at the College of Riddlemasters will think him an ignorant farmer





	The First Day

“I am Rood of An. Who are you?” The stranger’s face was arrogant, dark brows buried under dark hair, his eyes hard and questioning.

The farmer’s son had been wondering about who would be assigned to share his small room at the College. It was the first time he had ever been away from home and he knew that whoever he would live with for the next five years could have a great impact on his life. This frowning person standing in the doorway did not ease his anxiety.

Morgon knew who this young man was. Hed may have been a small backwater, but he paid attention to the names of the rulers of the other kingdoms . . . and their children. Rood’s father was the King of An, which was a country far larger than Hed, with a long magnificent history. He thought about being intimidated by this, but then, they were both here at the College, both wearing the White of Beginning Mastery.

So he smiled quietly. “I am Morgon of Hed. I’ve heard of you.”

Rood raised an eyebrow, his face getting tighter. “The land-heir of Hed? But the Princes of Hed never leave Hed.”

Morgon was surprised that Rood clearly knew who he was as well, and watched the other boy’s face go through a series of expressions before settling into neutral blankness. As the heir of a Prince, Morgon technically outranked the second son of a King, but he was not inclined to make an issue of it, although it was clear that Rood had worked out their relative status for himself.

He latched instead on to Rood’s pronouncement. “We don’t normally leave Hed, that’s true, and it cost my family a great deal of anguish to let me go. But I kept asking questions that no one could answer, so my father decided that the College of Riddlemasters was the best place for me.”

“I see.”

Some of the tenseness eased, but Rood still did not look friendly. Morgon suppressed a sigh, wondering how hard it would be to study when his roommate resented him. Perhaps this arrogance was bred into the land-rulers of An and Rood could not help himself.

Rood turned away and without another word, began to put away his books and unpack his clothes, putting several beautiful robes in the press. Morgon turned back to his own book and tried to ignore the other boy. When Rood finished he stood in the middle of the room for a moment, and then began a careful inspection of the beams and corners in the high-ceilinged room. Finally, he put his head out the window, staring intently at the tree outside and looking behind the shutters.

He had never been able to resist a puzzle in his life, so Morgon quickly forgot his resolve to leave Rood alone and he stood up, trying to understand what Rood was looking for.

“What are you doing?”

“My father. He’s a nosy, interfering man who insists that things must be done his way. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had followed the ship to spy on me.”

“You think your father is in the tree?” He had a momentary vision of the King of An clad in the blue and purple colors of An, dodging branches and trying to hold on to his crown.

A strange look of vulnerability crossed the dark face, making him look younger and chasing away the haughtiness. “A crow. My father is fond of the crow shape, especially when he is doing something he shouldn’t.”

“A crow!” Morgon breathed, delighted. “How wonderful!”

He had come to the College expecting to learn marvelous things. He was a farmer’s son who had never before left his island and he was certain that the rich dirt of Hed still clung to him somewhere, but here on his very first day he met a boy whose father could shape a crow.

Rood looked at him and then the tension eased out of his face completely, lighting it with the first smile Morgon had seen from him.

His grin was wry. “Yes, well, it can be awkward at times.” But his face stayed open, responding to Morgon’s wonder.

Morgon smiled back and started helping him stack his books of the shelves. Their talk drifted to their families, their lives to that point, Rood curious about a Prince who personally worked the fields with his subjects, Morgon entranced by tales of the soaring marble city that was Rood’s home. Rood’s mind was agile and inquisitive, and by the time the bell rang for the evening meal, Morgon decided that everything was going to be fine between them.


End file.
